Plan

You have a vision; let’s find out if it is a business.

Expert pre-opening support for independent founders, pre-opening venues, and first-year operators.

Most hospitality failures are not caused by a lack of passion or effort. They happen because the early decisions were made without enough commercial clarity.

Is the concept viable, or is it just exciting? How much money do you actually need, and how long will it last? What should the menu look like to support margin and demand? How do you price properly without apologising for it?

These questions are hardest to answer when you are closest to the idea, especially if you have not opened before, or the people around you are enthusiastic rather than objective.

The Plan service exists for this stage. It is structured support from someone who has opened, run, and turned around hospitality businesses across the UK and Spain for over thirty years. It is practical guidance that prevents expensive mistakes.

Investment

  • €365 / month + IVA

  • 12-month minimum term.

  • Best for: Operators preparing to open (or rebuilding the plan before committing more money).

IVA note: All prices exclude IVA (21%). For clients outside Spain, IVA may not apply. Billed monthly via Stripe. The first charge is pro-rated from your start date.

See all pricing plans →

What is Included

  • Monthly check-in (30 to 45 minutes): Focused, structured, and calendared in advance. Each call is for the one or two decisions that matter most that month.

  • Quarterly review (60 to 90 minutes): Every three months we step back and assess where you are against the plan. What is on track? What has drifted? What needs reordering for the next ninety days?

  • Strategic and commercial guidance: Concept validation, market positioning, pricing strategy, financial modelling, and structural decisions that determine whether the business is viable before anything becomes irreversible.

  • Brand and menu development: Your brand and your menu are two of the most consequential commercial documents you will create before opening. We develop both with clarity of purpose and economic logic built in.

  • Pre-opening guidance: Site evaluation, lease review, supplier sourcing, recruitment groundwork, licensing, and the sequencing of decisions. This is where most first-time founders get caught.

  • Support between calls: Email and WhatsApp access for questions that do not keep office hours. Response within one working day.

  • Structured billing: Billed monthly via Stripe. The first charge is pro-rated from your start date to the end of that month and is taken upon signature. Monthly billing occurs on the 1st of each month thereafter.

What Opening Actually Costs (And How Long Your Money Has to Last)

Most opening budgets are built around the fit-out: the kitchen, the furniture, the stock. The number feels real because you have quotes.

It is also usually wrong once you add the lease deposit, pre-opening staffing, licences, professional fees, the inevitable overrun, and the working capital you need before a single paying guest walks through the door. If you are opening in Spain, you must also account for cash-on-delivery supplier terms from day one.

Then there are the first months of trading: the period where the business is real, but its name has not travelled far enough yet. Tuesday lunch is quiet, and you cannot fully explain why. The gap between your projection and your actual weekly take feels uncomfortable.

Almost every venue goes through this phase. The survivors are not the ones with the most money; they are the ones who planned for it. Part of Plan is making your true capital position visible before you commit. That means:

  • Building your real opening costs from first principles, not hope.

  • Stress-testing your P&L so you know what turnover you need to break even.

  • Identifying the buffer required to survive the first months of trading.

  • Being honest if the buffer is not yet in place.

“The thing that costs most in hospitality is usually not the dramatic mistake. It’s the quiet assumption: the number you didn’t question, the cost you did not model, and the buffer you thought you didn’t need.”
— Benjamin Sawyer

Who It Is For

Plan is the right fit if:

  • You have a concept but need to test it properly before committing capital.

  • You are planning or pre-opening and want structured expert support alongside you.

  • You have opened within the last 12 months and are still finding your operational footing.

  • You want an experienced second opinion without the cost and complexity of a full-time business partner.

If you are already trading and looking to stabilise performance, Run is likely the right fit. If you are profitable and planning expansion, look at Grow.

Commonly Asked Questions

  • This is the most important question any founder can ask. Concept viability depends on the clarity of the idea, the market, the location, the price point, the competitive landscape, and whether the numbers work at realistic volumes. Enthusiasm is not a business plan. We begin with an honest commercial assessment. If the concept is not viable, we will tell you. If it is, we will help you build it properly.

  • More than most people expect, and it depends on location, lease terms, fit-out requirements, and operating model. The common mistakes are underestimating setup costs and underestimating runway. A realistic model is not optional. It is the foundation everything else sits on.

  • A menu is a commercial document. It has to generate revenue, support the concept, and excite guests in that order. The common mistakes are too many dishes, dishes that destroy margin, pricing driven by anxiety, and a structure that does not guide guests toward the right choices. We engineer the menu early because it shapes every day of trading.

  • Underpricing does not create loyal customers. It creates customers you cannot afford to serve. Effective pricing starts with accurate costs, a clear view of the market, and a strategy that positions value honestly. We help you arrive at prices you can defend to your accountant, to your guests, and to yourself.

  • If this is your first venue, or you are investing serious capital, the cost of getting it wrong is usually far higher than the cost of getting experienced support early. Most founders we work with wish they had started the conversation sooner.

  • A full-time partner brings a salary, equity, and the complexities of a partnership. Plan gives you structured access to deep hospitality experience and clear accountability without operational entanglement. It is guidance and a trusted second opinion, not a co-founder.

Not sure if your concept is ready?

Start with a free, no-obligation conversation. We will look at where you are, what you're building, and whether Plan is the right level of support.

No hard sell. No Obligation. Just an honest conversation.

Talk to Benjamin

Read about how we work →